Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [96]
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves, crushed in the palm of your hand
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp and remove it to paper towels to drain. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a zipper-top plastic bag, add the chops, and shake to coat.
add the chops to the bacon drippings and brown on both sides. Transfer the chops to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. If the chops don’t fit snugly in one layer, put some on top of each other.
melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, sage, thyme, and sugar and sauté until the onions begin to turn golden but not brown. Pour the beef broth into the skillet and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert and add the chicken broth.
cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, until the pork is tender. Stir in the bacon.
serve the pork chops covered with some of the sauce.
serves 6–8
Sweet Potato Pork Chop Supper
Most of us think of serving sweet potatoes during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, when in fact they are delicious year-round and don’t just complement turkey or chicken. This hearty one-dish meal of pork chops slowly cooked with orange-and-thymeflavored sweet potatoes is sure to become a family favorite. The best news is that once it goes into the slow cooker, you’ve got it made!
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 center-cut 1-inch-thick boneless pork loin chops
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, thinly sliced into half rounds
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices
1 cup orange juice
combine the thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle half the mixture over both sides of the pork chops. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
add the pork chops and brown on both sides. Tr ansfer the pork to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining thyme mixture and sauté for 1 minute.
add the onion and sauté until the onion is beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Transfer the onion to the slow-cooker insert, leaving some of the butter in the skillet. Cover the onion with the sweet potato slices and pour the orange juice over all.
drizzle the potatoes with the butter remaining in the skillet. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours, until the sweet potatoes and pork chops are tender.
serve the pork chops with the sweet potatoes and some of the sauce.
serves 6–8
Just-Peachy Pork Chops
These pork chops are a terrific weeknight meal and give a sweet and savory spin to the traditional pork chop. Peaches, cippolini onions, and balsamic vinegar combine to make a delicious sauce perfectly balanced for serving with scalloped potatoes or rice.
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
6 center-cut, bone-in, 1-inch-thick pork chops
2 cups cippolini or small pearl onions, peeled and left whole
2 teaspoons dried sage leaves, crumbled in the palm of your hand
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 cup peach preserves (see savvy)
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup beef broth, plus ¼ cup (optional)
2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
combine the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a shallow dish. Dip each chop in the flour, coating both sides lightly and shaking off any excess flour. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half the chops and brown on both sides. Repeat with the remaining chops.
transfer the chops to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the same skillet. Add the onions, sage, and sugar and sauté until the onions begin to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Add the preserves, vinegar, and